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Hi – I currently own a Casio PX-110 which we bought about 7 years ago and have been satisfied with it so far for our needs (one child beginner who dropped out, then two children picked it up two years ago and myself one year ago). But now I’d like to purchase a furniture style piano because 1) our current Casio sits on an x-stand with an x-bench and I’m kind of tired of the garage band look in my living room (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and 2) my kids probably spend more time playing the DP than they do their video games BY CHOICE – that’s saying something – so we could really use a second DP.

After doing lots of reading/surfing I have focused on the Casio PX-850 and the Yamaha Clavinova CVP 501.

I have read good things here about the PX 850 and it’s also reasonably priced ($1k at Costco); not won over by the cabinet though. But, recently my kids tried out the CVP 501 and I couldn’t get them to leave the store willingly. The place is clearing out the 500 series, and the CVP501 is going for about $3k (my uppermost limit).

Piano sound and action are priorities for me. I did not find the feel of the CVP501 to be earth shattering over our current DP, as much as I liked the cabinet styling. The extra features are cool but I likely won’t use those much. My children however are quite creative and would definitely use the features that come with CVP501.

My dilemma – save two grand, go for the PX850 and simply deal with the downgraded cabinetry and limited accompaniments OR splurge and get the CVP501 keeping in mind (as I read on this site) that it’s just a basic Yamaha DP with a nice cabinet and lots of bells and whistles?

Any feedback would be appreciated! Thank you for reading this long post.

p.s. I considered the CLP line – 440 I think? Priced very close ($100 cheaper) to the cvp501, but it doesn’t come with as many features as the cvp501 and don’t know if I can justify the extra $$ for the cabinet and maybe better piano action (again, maybe because I’m a beginner but the action of the CLP didn’t blow me away versus what we have now).

Well there is the Ap650 which is is £50 more and has a different cabinet, apparently it is identical to the PX850.

Or you could just BUILD a cabinet around a slab, or buy a Z stand or a U stand (Roland makes those funny U stands), For $3000 I reckon I'd go get a RD300NX, some monitors, and stick it in a old piano chassis!

Thank you justpin - I suppose I should mention I was also considering the Celviano AP450/AP650 but got fed up trying to find a dealer. I have asked Mike Martin from Casio and hopefully he can point me to someone.

Build a cabinet? I have to rely on hubby just to put it together out of the box for me. And I suppose he could build something...but with golf season upon us...

Not so much build, just find a wreck of a piano (there are loads of them which are used for firewood) and stick the digital piano in that!

There are numerous projects on this board where people have used old grands and uprights, done some cutting and placed the digital piano in the space where the keys used to be.

This is very interesting and something I hadn't ever considered before. I will look at this idea more closely - thank you!

Have you considered the Roland or Kawai digital pianos? Several are in your price range. Not as many dealers as Yamaha, though.

$3000 will buy a really good stage piano, and a pair of loudspeakers to do it justice.

. Charles

Bias - I own a PX-350.

Thanks Charles. I am now looking at staying at the lower end of my budget but getting my cabinet too by considering the Celviano x50 series since I may have found a dealer. I already read the heated thread on the AP650 but I didn't really understand it since we're beginners and don't think we'd even notice the issue(s) that were bothersome to the original poster.

My kids are young and I doubt this will be the last dp we buy so I'll save the cash and get the bees knees when they're older.

That's a _very_ wise philosophy! Think of it as 'consumer electronics', not a lifetime commitment.

. Charles